On the Typology of Xiangfan Dialect Taking the Word "gei" as an Instance

In Xiangfan dialect,the word gei has the following usages: gei~1,verb,expressing give,to cause or to permit,etc;gei~2,preposition,introducing the agent and expressing passive meaning,which can be replaced by jiao or rang;gei~3,preposition,introducing the patient and expressing a dispositional meaning,which can be replaced by jiao as well;gei~4,preposition,introducing the target of an act;gei~5,auxiliary.Gei in Xiangfan dialect has its historic origin.The paper preliminarily identifies the typology of Xiangfan dialect through comparison and contrast of the markers in Xiangfan dialect and dialects in nearby regions.